The owner, Adam Rodriguez, spent time in prison for drug dealing but like most others in his family had relied on his faith in God to get his life on track. The barber, his wife and other community members gathered at the shop and talked to Cruz about criminal justice reform and other issues. He spent nearly 90 minutes there in an impromptu town hall meeting, one that would get him only few votes but a critical view from the road that most politicians don't travel. Cruz went on to win his contest against O'Rourke, and the trip to the barber was one of his most authentic campaign stops, even though it was probably designed to be an in-and-out photo opportunity.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz gets a haircut from Adam Rodriguez as he visits Kingdom Cuts Barbershop in Dallas on July 28, 2018.

(Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

The barber also gave Cruz a haircut, complete with hot towel service. Cruz, who has since grown a much-discussed beard, could use a trip back to the shop, if only to shape it all up.

Beto O'Rourke

Gift: The book Iowa off the Beaten Path

O'Rourke, the El Paso congressman, thrilled Texas Democrats and others with a remarkable campaign that came within 2.6 percentage points of beating Cruz. The Democrat visited all 254 counties in Texas and afterward dropped an ad that criticized Cruz for visiting all 99 counties in Iowa during his 2016 presidential bid.

Now, after that near upset, O'Rourke is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for president, trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the latest polls.

This travel book about Iowa will offer many obscure places for O'Rourke to visit and then spout to corn-fed voters for the first-in-the nation presidential contest. I can hear it now. "We have to show up. I've been to the Hobo Museum in Britt, the Bluff Lake Catfish Farm in Maquoketa and the Big Treehouse in Marshalltown," O'Rourke might say. "We show up everywhere."

Beto O'Rourke spoke to the crowd during the South Dallas With Beto! event at Good Street Baptist Church on Sept. 14, 2018.

(Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer)

O'Rourke is pondering a run for president with his family and could make a decision early next year.

Another Texan, former Housing Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, has already formed an exploratory committee. Winning the 2019 Iowa caucuses would give either of them a big boost toward the nomination, since Texas is poised to deliver a trove of delegates in the March Super Tuesday contests.

Julian Castro

Gift: Better timing

You may remember that Castro gave the 2012 keynote speech at the National Democratic Convention. He was set up for big moments ahead but declined to run for Texas governor, even though Democrats yearned for him to get into a race against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. That ultimately left Texas Democrats to turn to former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez as their champion. Abbott easily beat her.

But 2018 was a good year for Texas Democrats because O'Rourke stormed out of obscurity to become the party's most popular Democrat. Castro was an afterthought, and now many national Democrats are clamoring for O'Rourke.

Castro was supposed to be the darling of 2018 politics, but he sat on the sideline. Now he'll need to rebound to get noticed in what could be a large presidential field.

North Texas Republicans

Gift: A retreat with California business and political leaders

In Collin County, Democrats didn't win much, but they put rival Republicans on notice. O'Rourke got 46 percent of the vote in a routinely reliable red county. O'Rourke won Tarrant County.

What's more, incumbent state Reps. Jeff Leach and Matt Shaheen of Plano nearly lost their races, and even Angela Paxton, the wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton, got a scare in her contest for the Texas Senate.

There's a theory that transplants from other states, most notably California, are moving to Texas for jobs and economic opportunities and bringing with them more moderate political views.

If this is the case, then Texas Republicans should be meeting with California officials on ways to keep their businesses on the West Coast and their residents voting in California elections. That would be a departure from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's annual business raids into the Golden State to poach businesses.

Pete Sessions

Gift: Great Moments with B.B. King

Sessions, the outgoing chairman of the House Rules Committee, lost his high-profile race against former NFL player turned lawyer Colin Allred, and he's not taking it well.

"They think they can do better," he said with a mischievous grin. "Let's give them a chance."

Texas Republican congressional candidate Pete Sessions spoke during an election night watch party hosted by the Dallas County Republican Party on Nov. 6, 2018, in Dallas. Sessions lost his seat in the U.S. Congress to Democrat Colin Allred.

(Mike Stone/Getty Images)

Many of us who have loved and lost anything understand that the blues have healing power, and nobody soothes the pain better than the late King of the Blues.

Some songs Sessions should pay close attention to: "It's My Own Fault," "Gamblers Blues," and "I'm Not Wanted Anymore."

Sessions had a great run in Congress and did good things for the area. I suspect he'll remain on the political scene.

Greg Abbott

Gift: The Most Valuable Texas Republican award

Abbott was the only statewide candidate to run a significant field program that turned out GOP voters, spending more than $50 million against a candidate he could have beat at a fraction of the cost.

Because Abbott took his race seriously and had goals other than simply winning, he provided critical votes that help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Paxton, the attorney general, win their close contests.

Abbott saved his party from disaster. He's their most valuable asset.

Texas women

Gift: The Most Valuable Voter award

Just as in other parts of the nation, female voters in Texas helped propel candidates to victory. Suburban women were the key to congressional wins by Allred and Democrat Lizzie Fletcher over incumbent John Culberson in Houston.

Female candidates, as well as female voters, are wielding tremendous political clout.

Texas voters

Gift: Cruz vs. O'Rourke rematch

Imagine this: Donald Trump, for whatever reason, decides against another presidential term. That sets up a GOP presidential primary between Vice President Mike Pence and Cruz, the 2016 Republican presidential runner-up. Cruz convinces GOP voters that they should have picked him in the first place and wins the 2020 GOP presidential nomination.

Meanwhile, O'Rourke outlasts Biden and others to win the Democratic presidential nomination, setting up a rematch with Cruz, but this time for the White House.